MOSAIC ART in Brittany, France

Mosaicist : Catherine Thouroude

After an initial career in photography Catherine Thouroude has chosen to work in another art form: the creation of mosaics, the reconstruction of harmony and balance from broken fragments -- mosaic tesserae.

She finds her inspiration from the folk art of peoples who draw with sand, wood, stone and shells; for whom pictures are a eulogy to the materials used.

She defines herself as a mosaicist. The material is the source of all her creativity, defining her working methods. This is how she presents herself to the participants on her courses. Mosaic art is the guiding principle of the workshop.

Training

Mosaic art and techniques, at the Scuola Arte del Mosaico, (Ravenna, Italy)

Art therapy, at Inecat (Paris), where the trainees are asked to search for the answers to life's questions, one by one, and then to bring them together to make up a whole -- life seen as a mosaic!

Psychiatry, psychotherapy and creativity, at the Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse), under the direction of Drs M. Escande and F. Granier.

Practical experience

Training in the art and craft of mosaics: Summer schools, weekly classes.

Decorative work: wall coverings, bathroom schemes, mirrors, indoor and outdoor tables, made to order.

Art therapy : work with mental health institutions

Rehabilitation : work at resource centres

Children's activities : “Kids’ Dreams ”: 100 children were brought together to make a reproduction of an ancient mosaic, under the aegis of the Chevaliers du Ciel, a charitable organisation.

The workshop

The workshop is equipped with all the necessary tools and equipment, with a large choice of mosaic tesserae in a multitude of colours and types of meterial.

The individual workbenches are grouped together.

Catherine's training principles

You progress by listening to the materials which are destined to become the work of art. It is a conversation between four actors: you, the teacher, the project and the material, mediated by hands and tools. Each one imposes its own constraints. The pleasure comes from satisfying the different partners.

The work progresses, in a process of careful reflection. As one movement follows another, you recognise and formalise your ideas. Whether in glazed ware, stoneware, glass or marble, the work is a succession of choices, of indefinitely repeated actions, the consequences of which slowly come to light.

There is a new relationship between you and the mosaic. It is your creation; your personal attention has given it life.

Discovering mosaics
The construction of a mosaic is the story of an encounter -- a meeting with the primary materials. This is where the relationship begins.

Understanding the meaning of time
Living a relationship means having a certain rapport with time. The mosaic, the result, is not what counts. More important is the discovery of new skills which, one by one, lead to the final product.

Getting involved
The fragments used, the tesserae, are the real mirror of the mosaicist. Discreetly, they show him the truth about his sensitivities, his hesitations, his creative leaps, his weaknesses, his strengths... This meeting only happens when the mosaicist wants it and only if he is prepared to listen.

Contact : Catherine Thouroude, Mosaïque Atelier, 6 rue Laënnec, 56230 Questembert, France, tel +33 (0)2 97 49 00 04, email : catherinejuge@aol.com